A man posing as an FBI agent unsuccessfully tried a jailbreak Wednesday for Luigi Mangione, the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mark Anderson, a 36-year-old Minnesotan, allegedly impersonated a federal agent at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and claimed to have a court order to release Mr. Mangione, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Mr. Anderson approached the intake area at the jail and claimed he had paperwork “signed by a judge” authorizing the release of a specific inmate.
Mr. Mangione, who is being held without bail, is awaiting trial for the Thompson killing in December 2024.
The complaint does not name the accused assassin as the target of the alleged breakout attempt, but law enforcement sources said that is who Mr. Anderson was seeking.
After Bureau of Prisons officials asked Mr. Anderson to identify himself, he flashed a Minnesota driver’s license and threw numerous documents at them, the complaint said.
“I have reviewed those papers and they appear to be related to filing of claims against the United States Department of Justice,” an agent wrote.
Mr. Anderson also had a bag in which officials found a barbecue fork and what resembled a pizza cutter.
He traveled to New York for a job opportunity that did not work out and was working at a pizzeria, law enforcement said.
He is expected to appear in court later on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mangione is due in court on Friday, when the judge may decide if he will face the death penalty if he’s convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.
